Emerald Night and the Alicorn Amulet
by littlemisslibrarian
Summary: Emerald Night is a hardworking mother who runs a jewelry store that is barely staying afloat. Then she discovers a mysterious red gem and unwittingly creates a powerful amulet. Will the amulet's curse tear her family apart?
1. Chapter 1

Emerald Night held up her gem detector and listen to its beep, which became more frequent as she got closer to the source. Her saddlebags were already heavy with gems. A few more, and she could return to her workshop. Sweat drenched her dark gray, green-streaked mane. Her light gray hair held the summer heat in, and she wished she could melt into a puddle. When she had earned her cutie mark (an emerald heart), she thought she would have it all figured out, but here she was working her tail off just to survive.

Emerald Night was shaken from her reverie by the detector's beep. There was a gem somewhere in the area. The machine wasn't as accurate as a unicorn's horn, but she couldn't hire a unicorn. She barely had the money to support herself and her family. She dug in the dirt. Her hoof hit something hard. She stared at the gem. It was bright red, almost like a ruby, but shaped differently. It was definitely unique, a necklace made with this gem could support her family for a month. She picked it up and put it in her saddlebag. The bags weighed her down and her back hurt, but she felt lightweight. The first successful expedition in weeks. Her children would eat well for a while. She trotted back to her apartment in Manehattan. The apartment sat directly above her jewelry store and workshop. She climbed the creaky stairs. Maybe she could make enough to pay the rent this time, and maybe even fix the stairs.

She opened the door, startling her family. Her husband, a light blue Pegasus with a dark blue mane, looked up from the board game they were playing. Her two fillies, twin Pegasi like their father, were hovering around the board. They were playing Ponopoly again.

"Want to play with us?" Shimmer Mist asked. Emerald Night gazed wistfully at the game.

"Sorry, I can't. I have to work. I got a lot of gems today, hopefully I can make some really nice jewelry. Then we can have something other than spaghetti for dinner!" She smiled, though her smile faltered as weariness crept in. Now that she was home, the full weight of her exhaustion and frustration had hit her.

"It's okay," said Dewdrop. As Emerald Night turned to leave, she heard Dewdrop whisper to her husband. "She's always busy," she complained. Dewdrop had never been good at whispering. Emerald Night made her way to the workshop and locked the door. In the dim light, she allowed the tears to fall. After a few minutes, she wiped them away and got to work. Shelves filled with meticulously organized tools lined the walls. Magnifying glasses; hammers; pieces of silver, gold, platinum, and bronze; tiny chisels and molds; a furnace that filled the room with oppressive heat and also heated the apartment and store. She organized the gems by type. Golden orange tiger's eyes, brilliant blue sapphires, elegant emeralds, milky opals that reflected the light in a muted rainbow of colors, there were even a few crystal-clear diamonds, and bright red rubies. Her eyes kept drifting back to the red gem.


	2. Chapter 2

There was a knock on her workshop door. She carefully set aside the delicate bracelet she was crafting and opened the door to let Shimmer Mist in. Her pale purple hair and baby blue mane and tail were messy, not in their usual braids, as if she had gotten into another tussle with her sister.

"Mommy, can you help me with my homework?"

"Of course. Did you ask Dewdrop and Daddy for help?"

"Dewdrop says I can't understand math because I'm a nimrod."

Emerald Night narrowed her eyes. "I'm gonna have a talk with Dewdrop… what time is it?" The clock in her workshop had stopped at 6:30 months ago.

"Midnight," Shimmer Mist said sheepishly. "I procrastinated."

Emerald Night smiled. "At least you didn't procrastinate on your vocabulary homework. Alright, I'm coming up." She followed Shimmer Mist up the stairs and into the kids' room. Dewdrop was already asleep, her dark blue curly mane covering her light gray face. She was a heavy sleeper, but they still talked in hushed voices. In the other room, Rainy Night was snoring.

"Sweet Celestia, they're starting you guys with geometry already?" She stared at her daughter's homework. A two-page worksheet about the properties of triangles. "When I was your age I didn't learn that till one of my last years of school!"

"When you were my age, everyone was probably too worried about Discord's reign of terror to think about education."

"That was a thou-hey now! Are you calling me old?"

Shimmer Mist grinned innocently.

"If you're gonna be that way, you can figure out these triangles on your own!" She made a big show of storming away, but turned around before she reached the doorway, laughing under her breath. Dewdrop snorted in her sleep, and Emerald Night cringed, hoping she hadn't woken the sleeping filly up. She tiptoed back to the short table, stained with crayon and marker lines. Together, they finished a page, then took a break. Shimmer Mist grinned.

"I think I get the hang of it now!" Then she thought for a second. "Are we going to Berry Lemon's cute-ciniera? I want to go, it's been forever since I've seen her, and I know you and Daddy are friends with Sherbet Lemon and Lemon Lime."

"Of course we're going," Emerald Night said. "I'm looking forward to seeing our friends." She glanced away and her smile faltered. "Can you finish the rest of the worksheet on your own?"

"I think so, yeah."

"Okay. I'm going to bed. You should go to bed too when you're done. And no more procrastinating! You're gonna have a rough day in school tomorrow, staying up this late!"

"I know." Shimmer Mist yawned. "Good night, I love you."

"Good night, I love you too." Emerald Night yawned and tiptoed into her room, curling up next to Rainy Night. He half-opened his eyes, then continued snoring.


	3. Chapter 3

The family arrived at the Lemons' party the next day. They had rented out a hotel conference room. Berry Lemon was bouncing around, a pale yellow and cranberry red streak. She showed her new cutie mark to everypony she saw, but she was moving so fast Emerald Night couldn't see what it was. Then the filly stopped in front of her.

"You're late but that's okay! How did you guys get your cutie marks?"

Rainy Night smiled with nostalgia. "I was at the Cloudsdale weather factory with my dad. It was Take Your Colt To Work Day. I found a stray bit of cloud and started messing around. Suddenly there was thunder and it was raining in the room! I was blinded by a flash of lightning, my parents rushed in when they heard the commotion, and the told me to look at my flank. Sure enough, I got this!" He looked at his cutie mark: a gray storm cloud with a shower of raindrops.

Berry Lemon was staring expectantly at Emerald, so she said her story. "One day my friend's cat ran away and didn't come back. She was heartbroken. I made a necklace for her, a wire cat with small emerald eyes that were the same color as her cat's. She hugged me, then my cutie mark appeared." _And then… what? I end up in a dingy apartment with a failing business._

"Great stories! I got my cutie mark by rescuing a kitten from a storm drain! It was raining and hard to see, but I heard a meow and saw the tiny little thing being swept along the gutter toward the storm drain. I ran ahead of him and stopped him from being swept away. The poor thing was soaking wet and shivering. I took him home, then when I walked past a mirror I saw my cutie mark! The kitty can't come to the party, he's sleeping in my room. I'm gonna rescue animals!" Her cutie mark was a red heart with a black paw in the center. Emerald Night wished she had the same optimism. If her younger self could see her now, she would be heartbroken.

The family separated, the fillies running off to play with the balloons scattered across the floor. Emerald found Sherbet Lemon and Lemon Lime hanging out by the punch bowl. She trotted up to them, smiling. "Hey!" she said. "Great party!"

"Oh, hey, Emerald! I didn't think you'd come; don't you have work?"

Emerald laughed. "I'm self-employed. I can give myself the day off." _And I don't exactly have ponies lining up around the block._

"Oh right, I forgot. So how are your kiddos?"

"Great! Their birthdays are coming up, they're excited to have their birthdays on a school day. I guess you have a new addition to your family?"

"Yep. I'm not a big fan of cats, but Berry swears she'll take care of him. He's cute, though. He's a tuxedo! She named him Daring Do."

"Isn't Daring Do a mare?"

"Yep. Didn't stop her."

The two laughed. Emerald's sour mood was forgotten.


	4. Chapter 4

Her sour mood returned later that night. After the party it was bedtime. While her husband and fillies retired to their rooms, she headed back to the workshop. She was intercepted by Rainy Night.

"Something's bothering you," he said.

"Yeah. I… I guess I just wish I had as much hope in the future as I did when I was a filly." She knew there was no use being evasive. He knew her too well.

"Just because things don't work out the way you want them to, doesn't mean they don't work out. You have a family and a job. We're not out on the streets."

"Yet."

"Come on, that's not gonna happen."

"It might. It's your job that's keeping us from being evicted, barely. My jewelry shop is in the red. I'm thinking of closing up shop, moving somewhere else, maybe Ponyville." She hung her head.

"Don't do that. This shop is your dream. It's your special talent." Rainy Night smiled at her.

"Maybe not. Maybe I got it all wrong. I don't know what else it could be, but it can't be this. I can't support a family like this." Emerald's eyes burned with unshed tears.

"You'll find a way. It'll work out. You're just tired." Rainy headed back to bed, but Emerald shook her head and opened the door to the stairway.

"I'll be in the workshop if you need me."

As the door closed, two pairs of eyes widened with shock.

"We have to do something. I don't like seeing Mommy and Daddy so sad," Shimmer Mist whispered. Dewdrop nodded.

"Maybe we should get them to going to the park. The park always cheers me up when I'm sad," Dewdrop suggested.

Shimmer Mist yawned. "Okay, but tomorrow. I'm tired." The fillies shuffled to bed.

Emerald Night locked herself in her workshop. The tiny details of jewelry and gem cutting required her full attention; even the slightest scratch could turn a rare gem into a cheap bauble. Cut a gem the wrong way, and it could shatter. This allowed her to focus all her energy on the task at hand, leaving no room for thoughts of cutie marks, the future, or finances.

But today, she couldn't stop her thoughts from drifting. The tool slipped out of her mouth and chipped off a corner of a diamond. She growled, slamming her hoof on the table and causing the diamond to skitter to the floor. She picked it up and put it aside. Maybe she could cut it smaller and it would still be useable. She looked around to see if she had another diamond. Her gaze was drawn to the red gem. She visualized the perfect piece for it: an amulet with sharp angles, that feature the wings and horned head of an alicorn. A dark metal, with red accents. She didn't work with iron often, but she brought out a piece and put it in the furnace. Then she lined up her tools like a surgeon. Time seemed to fly; it was the fastest she had ever completed a project. Finally, she added the gem.

The gem glowed red, and a pair of eyes appeared before her, staring into her soul. She backed away, but she couldn't escape them. Then, they were gone and the gem no longer glowed. She trembled and everything went black.


	5. Chapter 5

She woke up on the floor several minutes later with no memory of the glowing gem or the eyes. She shook the dust out of her mane and returned to work, making a bracelet before falling asleep on the floor of the workshop. It wasn't the first time, and when Rainy Night woke up alone the next morning he knew where to find her. He shook her awake. She blinked at him with bloodshot eyes.

"The kids and I are going to the park after breakfast. They insisted. We would like you to come too, but if you're too tired you can stay here."

"No, I'm fine," she said in a groggy voice. She stood up, swaying a bit, and left the workshop. The movement made her feel more awake, and by the time she reached the kitchen she was no longer in danger of dozing off. "So, you guys want to go to the park. Anything in particular you wanted to do?"

"Uh… Frisbee?" Dewdrop suggested.

"Sure sounds fun! I wonder if that one duck with the funny beak is still there."

"His name is Jerry," Dewdrop said, rolling her eyes.

"Is he now?" Rainy Night asked, raising an eyebrow. "I didn't even know he was a he!"

"Males are more colorful. Females are kind of brownish. Jerry has a green head and neck. They use their colors to attract mates."

Shimmer Mist snickered. "Maybe your cutie mark will be a duck!"

Dewdrop glared at her. "And maybe yours will be a nimrod!"

"Ooh! I've never heard _that_ one before!" Shimmer Mist rolled her eyes.

"Guys, stop it or we're not going," Rainy Night said. Both fillies fell silent, concentrating on their cereal and milk.

"Ugh, my cereal's soggy," Shimmer Mist complained.

"It wouldn't be if you stopped arguing and started eating," Emerald Night said sternly. "Now eat it fast, I don't want to throw out a whole bowl of cereal."

Shimmer Mist grumbled and shoveled soggy cereal into her mouth, grimacing at the texture. Dewdrop was also making faces at her cereal, but stayed quiet about it.

The family walked the three blocks to the closest park. Emerald Night had brought the Frisbee, but the fillies were more interested in playing aerial tag. She shrugged and tossed the Frisbee at Rainy Night. He threw it back to her. She ran backwards and threw it again. He caught it with ease. Back and forth, back and forth. Emerald Night grew bored of it and threw the Frisbee high up in the air. Rainy Night shot upwards, but couldn't catch it in time. It flew past him and hit a tree before falling to the ground. He picked it up and threw it back, but it whizzed by too fast for her to catch it.

"Not fair," she called to him as she trotted after the disk.

" _You're_ not fair!" Rainy Night called after her. They laughed as they continued the game, throwing the Frisbee in crazier ways as it went on. Finally, Rainy Night used wind from his wings to propel the toy forward. It brushed past the top of Emerald Night's mane and slammed into the tree behind her.

"No more Frisbee for you, featherbrain," Emerald said with a smile. She put the Frisbee back in her saddlebags. She took out a few pieces of stale bread.

"Hey girls!" she shouted. "Let's feed the ducks!"

They dove down, faster than they should have, only stopping at the last possible moment. They reveled in the look of anxiety on their parents' faces and wing-fived each other. Emerald divided the bread equally between the four of them, and they sat around the still pond. The ducks swam toward them, quacking and splashing, putting on a show for the treats. The ponies threw the bread into the pond. The fillies giggled at the ducks' antics, while their parents smiled.

After a long day of games, they walked home as the sun set. The fillies ran ahead of their parents. Emerald Night fell behind and snuck into the workshop. Something was off about that gem. She had to look at it more closely. The fact that it was already perfectly cut, the violent red color, its shape… she chose her strongest magnifying glass. As she gazed at it, she sensed an energy about it. Did it have magical properties? She picked it up. If it was magical, maybe it could help her support her family. Maybe it would bring her good fortune, or good luck. With trembling hooves, she put the amulet around her neck.

"Huh," she said, disappointed. Nothing happened, at least not immediately. Maybe if she wore it a little longer the effects would show. She stepped quietly up the stairs and through the apartment. Then she carefully got into bed and fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

The eyes burned into her.

She woke up the next morning with a strange feeling. She couldn't quite describe it. Maybe she was just a bit dehydrated or hungry. She got out of bed and ate breakfast with the family. The feeling was still there. Maybe the amulet was magical after all, and she just had to do something to release the magic. She didn't know what she could do; she didn't have a horn or wings. She decided to think it over during the workday. She would have plenty of time, after all. When her husband left for work and her fillies left to play at a friend's house, she got ready for the day. She turned on the lights, dusted off the display cases, double checked that nothing was stolen, and flipped the sign from "Closed" to "Open." Then she sat behind the desk. How could an earth pony use a magical amulet? She knew from school that her kind had magic connected to the earth. Plant-growing, physical strength, and jumping abilities. "Guess I'm going for a walk," she said to nopony.


	6. Chapter 6

She hung an "Out to Lunch" sign on the door and strolled down the street. She reached the park and looked around to make sure nobody was near her. In the early morning, there was only one elderly couple on the other side of the park, strolling along the dirt trail. She ran from one tree to the other, back and forth. She was going so fast she had to skid to a halt. Faster than she'd ever run. Energy coursed through her veins. She leaped like a gazelle, as high as the treetops. She grinned from ear to ear. When she landed after a particularly high jump, she stomped the ground and created a small crater.

"Whoa," she said, looking at her hooves. "I did that!" She looked around again, and saw that the elderly couple had stopped to stare at her. She ran away, down the street, weaving through the crowd. She forced herself to slow down so she didn't draw attention to herself. The strange necklace was already eye-catching enough. She headed home, satisfied with her experiments. She didn't know what the gem was, but it would be useful. She could find another job that could use her new strength.

She opened the door and took down the "Out to Lunch" sign. Then she sat behind the desk again. She smiled at the empty store. A few customers came in that day, and she made two sales. Today was a very good day indeed.

Her husband came home from work, the bells on the door ringing to signal his arrival.

"Business was good today, I assume," he asked.

"Yep! I only made two sales, but seven ponies came in and were interested!"

"Good. Maybe they'll come back later." He seemed a bit distant.

"Bad day at work?" she asked.

"Nimbus was being a featherbrain again. She thinks she's the boss."

"She won't be laughing when you get the promotion and you can boss her around."

"Yeah. Hey, that's a new necklace. Where did you get it?"

"I made it myself of course. Why would I give business to a competitor?"

"Of course, it's just that it's not your usual style. You usually have leaves and swirls going on in your designs, that necklace is very angular. And the gem is odd. I mean, it looks good on you, but…"

"Yeah, I… decided to try something different."

"It's definitely different." Rainy Night left the shop quickly. He seemed eager to leave the room. Emerald Night watched him,wondering what caused him to act so strange. She often made jewelry for herself, that was nothing unusual. She dabbled in other designs before, though none were as popular as her arabesque style. Puzzled, she gazed out the window at the setting sun.

The eyes burned into her.

The sun seemed to set in the blink of an eye. There was a gap in her memory. Emerald Night tilted her head, blinking dazedly. That had been happening a lot lately. Maybe the stress was getting to her. She decided to take it easy the next few days, and if she was still having problems she would call the doctor.


	7. Chapter 7

The next day was rainy. She smiled as she smelled the rain through the open window. Since it wasn't blowing in through the window, she left it open. It was a sleepy morning, after the fillies went to school (complaining that they were going to be soaking wet all day) and her husband went to work. The rain pattered against the window and she dozed off.

She woke up when the rain stopped. It was noon. It would be a good day to go to the market. She could usually find some inexpensive, though slightly overripe, produce there. She headed out the door and noticed that she was still wearing the amulet. _Oh well._ She trotted down the sidewalk. When she reached the crosswalk, she stood and waited for the pedestrian light to turn green. She waited a minute. Two minutes. Fed up, her eyes glowed red and she leaped across the four lanes of gridlocked traffic. She landed on the other side of the crosswalk and saw a crowd of ponies staring at her. "Oh, I guess I shouldn't make that a habit," she said to herself, cringing as the red disappeared from her green eyes. She ran away before any of them could catch up to her.

At the market, she filled her basket with the same overripe, bruised fruits and vegetables, greeting the merchants by name. As she headed home, she saw a group of red, ripe, shiny apples. " _Mommy, why do we always have to eat the yucky apples,"_ Dewdrop had complained at breakfast. Shimmer Mist had nodded in agreement, while she and Rainy Night had exchanged uncomfortable glances. Emerald Night blinked, gazing at the apples. Her eyes flashed red and darted back and forth. She swiped them into her basket. They would be good afternoon snacks for when everypony came home.

The fillies came home from school, and Rainy Night came home from work. She gave each of them an apple.

"I had a good day at work," she said. "And I know we're all sick of eating yucky apples."

Dewdrop grinned sheepishly.

Everyone ate their apples and thanked Emerald Night. She nodded and sent the fillies to their room to do their homework. As she went behind the desk and pulled out some paperwork she had been procrastinating on, Rainy Night pushed the papers away.

"I just noticed something. If you had a good day at work, how come all the jewelry is still here? Shouldn't you have made some sales, which would imply that there would be less jewelry on display?"

Emerald Night's face turned red and she backed away. "I… I… I borrowed…"

"You stole those apples. You lied to all of us. How can I trust you now?"

She felt a surge of the strange, sick feeling. She glared across the desk at her husband. "Do you want to be eating reject food all your life? Ponies like us, the only way we can get anywhere is by any means necessary. If I have to steal so our family doesn't eat like rats, so be it."

"I don't believe this. This is not the mare I married." Rainy Night backed away, stunned by his wife's sudden anger.

"Ponies change." Emerald Night turned away, returning to her paperwork, feeling sick to her stomach. Sadness pushed back the strange feeling. She still couldn't describe it. A word drifted in her subconscious, just out of reach. She held her head in her hooves, frustrated. Rainy Night shook his head in disbelief, tears welling up in his eyes, and stomped upstairs. Emerald Night could hear the stairs splintering with the force. She slammed her head on the desk, tears running down her face. "Stupid! Why did I do that? Why did I do any of this?" _Have I become that desperate?_

 _Yes. Honesty hasn't gotten me anywhere for years. If stealing is what it takes to get ahead then that's what I'll do. The pony I stole from had money to spare anyway._

Emerald Night looked up and narrowed her eyes in determination. The tears dried.

The eyes burned into her.

She woke up at the desk. It was midnight. _Again with the memory gaps. Well, today was really stressful._ She shrugged it off and went back to the workshop. This time, she wanted to forget. She wanted to forget everything. She wanted to pour herself into her work. But her mind kept drifting, she couldn't focus on the piece she was working on for more than a few minutes. She paced back and forth, growling in frustration. The half-finished bracelet sat abandoned on the messy table. She went back to work, but when she finally finished the piece didn't look at all how she imagined it. She threw it across the room, covering her mouth with her hooves to muffle her scream. This was her special talent, she never messed up this bad! The vines were all crooked, the leaves looked more like blobs, the gems were put in crooked.

Emerald Night went for a walk, hoping the fresh air would clear her mind. The city was so quiet at night, but every individual sound seemed amplified as it echoed off the tall buildings. She decided she would continue to steal. It was necessary. Her family didn't like it, so she wouldn't tell them. The anger disappeared as she breathed in the night air and listened to the silence, as quiet as a city like Manehattan could be.


End file.
